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In-Brief

P.R. Tourism Co. consults with Spanish Tourism Quality Institute

The Puerto Rico Tourism Company has announced the signing of a collaborative agreement on a new program through which an alliance is established with the Institute for Spanish Tourism Quality (ICTE by its Spanish initials).

The alliance aims to raise Puerto Rico’s competitiveness as a destination by ensuring high levels of satisfaction among travelers through the establishment of a training and development project that raises tourism industry knowledge of quality standards. 

“We are very pleased and excited to be able to count on the expertise and collaboration of such a prestigious entity as the Institute for Spanish Tourism Quality to implement our new program, ‘Puerto Rico Sí: Calidad de Servicio 100 X 35,’” said Tourism Co. Executive Director Carlos Mercado. 

“With this initiative, we intend to develop a service-quality project that impacts the tourism industry in all its areas,” said Mercado.

The Tourism Co. explained that the program consists of a comprehensive training and development project designed with the objective of impacting all areas of the island’s tourism ecosystem, including the hospitality sector, food, bars, entertainment, tour operators, transportation and casinos. 

“This new program represents an additional tool within the work plan implemented by Tourism to continue strengthening the positioning of the island as a tourist destination of excellence, through the development of strategies aimed at improving the quality of tourism products and services, with initiatives for development, innovation, training, education, audits and certifications, among other factors,” Mercado said.

The ICTE is a private institution in which the main Spanish tourism federations participate, as well as representatives of the Secretary of State for Tourism, Autonomous Communities and the municipalities responsible for certifying quality systems for the tourism sectors and managing the “Q” Mark for Tourism Quality.

“This alliance with Puerto Rico means for ICTE the opportunity to share with a place that maintains so many ties with Spain the know-how that, in terms of tourism quality, we have developed from Spain and that has made us world leaders in this area,” ICTE President Miguel Mirones said.

“We believe the transmission of the methodology and experience developed from ICTE, together with the development potential as a destination for Puerto Rico, will make this place a benchmark in terms of tourism quality throughout the Central American region,” Mirones added.

The alliance with ICTE will begin in the middle of the first quarter with an immersive training project for the Tourism Co. personnel dedicated to service quality . 

The objective of this first phase is to develop and improve the technical skills of the staff, update the training curriculum offered to the sector and evaluate tourism quality systems and their management. Tourism regulations will be studied with the goal of updating them to modern standards.

During the second phase, all personnel working or providing service to visitors will be trained and ICTE staff will work hand in hand with the implementation of new quality monitoring and measurement systems and the continuous transfer of knowledge.

“The tourism industry in Puerto Rico is currently at a catalytic point, and we maintain our firm commitment to continue maximizing Puerto Rico’s offer as a tourist destination, leading it to a higher level of service that qualifies it as the most attractive place to visit in the Caribbean,” Mercado said.

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This story was written by our staff based on a press release.
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